Kieron Kohlmann Represents the United States and the WorldSkills Americas
Leesburg, Va. — Kieron Kohlmann, a former SkillsUSA Championships and SkillsUSA WorldTeam competitor, has been chosen to represent the western hemisphere’s WorldSkills Americas as a member of the WorldSkills Champions Trust (WSCT). Each WSCT ambassador was a WorldSkills competitor in 2013, 2015 or 2017.
Ranging in age from 18 to 25 years old, the ambassadors demonstrated excellence in their technical area and also completed a comprehensive screening process in order to be selected. These nine young adults represent five regions of WorldSkills: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania and South East Asia. The WSCT is an international team of nine technical education ambassadors made up of past WorldSkills Competition competitors. The WSCT was created by WorldSkills International to help bridge the gap between champions and WorldSkills beyond the competition experience. SkillsUSA is the organization that represents the United States in the WorldSkills Competition.
Kohlmann is currently an automotive diagnostic development engineer for
SolvIT in Auburn Hills, Mich. He is a graduate of Ferris State University with a B.S. in Automotive Engineering Technology, an A.S. in Automotive Service Technology and a quality control certificate. He is also an ASE Certified Master Automobile Technician, an ASE Certified Master Heavy Truck Technician and an ASE Certified Advanced Level Specialist.
Kohlmann received a gold medal in the 2010 SkillsUSA Championships Automotive Service Technology competition. He was a gold medalist in the 2012 WorldSkills Americas automobile technology competition in São Paulo, Brazil, and a 2013 Medallion of Excellence winner at the WorldSkills Competition in Leipzig, Germany.
When asked how he felt about being chosen as a WSCT representative, Kohlmann said, “I’m glad to be again working with World Skills. It’s an honor to be able to represent not just SkillsUSA, but all of North America at an international level.”
Mike Elder, assistant professor of Automotive Technology at Pittsburg State University assisted Kohlmann with training for both the WorldSkills Americas and the WorldSkills International competitions. When asked about how he thought Kohlmann will do as a WSCT representative, he said, “Kieron is a true champion. During training, he was always looking to do more, to learn more and continually worked to improve and prepare himself to compete. Kieron also possesses great networking skills. He is personable and genuine in his relationships with others, ready to help and gracious with thanks when others offer him assistance. During his international competitions Kieron forged many lasting friendships, not only with other competitors, but with other national experts and business representatives. He will make an outstanding ambassador for SkillsUSA and WorldSkills International.”
U.S. WorldSkills Technical Delegate, R. Scott Norman, an associate professor at Pittsburg State University, also assisted with Kohlmann’s training for the competitions. When asked how he felt about Kohlmann being chosen, he said, “It has been an honor to watch Kieron transform from a SkillsUSA Championships and WorldSkills medalist to a professional colleague in the automotive industry. He will do a fantastic job as our United States representative to the WorldSkills Champions Trust and I am excited to see how this experience will impact his life and career.”
The WSCT operates as a small advisory group that works closely throughout the year with a WorldSkills coordinator to help raise levels of engagement among WorldSkills champions. The WSCT also acts as representatives for the WorldSkills movement, under the direction of WorldSkills. As a member of the Champions Trust, Kohlmann will represent an exclusive network of Champions and will serve to advocate the power of skills to transform the lives of young people around the world.
About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a vital solution to the growing U.S. skills gap. The nonprofit partnership of students, instructors and industry ensures America has the skilled workforce it needs to stay competitive. Endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education, the association serves more than 335,000 member students and instructors each year in middle schools, high schools and colleges. This diverse talent pipeline covers 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, the majority STEM-related. More than 600 corporations, trade associations, businesses and labor unions actively support SkillsUSA at the national level. SkillsUSA empowers its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens as it improves the quality of our nation’s future skilled workforce. SkillsUSA supports its student members through the development of SkillsUSA Framework skills that include personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics. Local, state and national championships, designed and judged by industry, set relevant standards for career and technical education and provide recognition opportunities for students. SkillsUSA also offers technical skill assessments and workplace credentials through the Career Essentials program, a cutting-edge solution that defines, implements and measures career readiness skills for students. For more information:
www.SkillsUSA.org.
About WorldSkills International
WorldSkills International has come to symbolize excellence in vocational training. It provides a unique means of comparison of world-class competency standards in the industrial trades and service sectors of the global economy. The continued growth of WorldSkills International attests to the fact that traditional trade skills make an essential contribution to the economic strength of every nation, along with today’s newer technologies and multi-skilled occupations.
